Wintry mess snarls flights at Dallas and across globe

Jan. 15, 2013
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Passengers sit and sleep on the floor as they wait for flights, many of which were delayed or canceled due to snowfall, at Narita International Airport near Tokyo on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013. / Nick Ut, AP

by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

by Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

What did Texas have in common with Japan and much of Northern Europe this morning? A lot of stranded fliers.

Wintry weather created headaches for airline passengers across the globe today (Jan. 15), snarling flights from Dallas to Amsterdam to Tokyo.

Closest to home, snow and icy weather caused significant problems in North Texas. American Airlines canceled about 340 flights at its hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this morning, according to AA spokeswoman Andrea Huguely.

Huguely told Today in the Sky that the airline's operations had returned to normal by noon CT.

Today's problems at DFW came as a mix of snowy, icy and rainy weather moved through the region. DFW and American also were hit with several days of significant flight cancellations around Christmas, when cold weather and de-icing backed up flights there over the busy holiday travel period.

Across town at Dallas Love Field -- where Southwest is the dominant carrier -- disruptions were less severe.

"No cancellations this morning, just a handful of delays," Southwest spokesman Whitney Eichinger says in an e-mail to Today in the Sky.

"We're back on schedule now," she added at around 10 a.m. ET.

Most accumulating snow and sleet had ended in the Dallas area by 9 a.m. local time, but freezing drizzle redeveloped later in the morning, according to the National Weather Service. A winter weather advisory went through noon CT.

The weather service warned that bridges and overpasses would remain hazardous for travel throughout the morning in the Dallas area.

This storm also is forecast to bring freezing rain to portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee throughout the day, where ice storm warnings were in effect. This included Memphis, a hub for Delta as well as for cargo and parcel giant FedEx.

Elsewhere, Tokyo's first snowfall of the season - about three inches - snarled flights at Narita International, where more than 3,400 stranded fliers were forced to spend Monday night in the airport, according to The Associated Press.

Air travelers also faced problems in Europe, where winter weather disrupted flights across large parts of Northern Europe.

Flights had been suspended this morning at Lyon airport, though some operations had resumed at the French airport by afternoon. Dozens of flights were canceled at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, according to FlightAware.

Elsewhere, airlines warned of delays or cancellations at a number of major airports.